James D’Arcy looks back on Jarvis’ journey and ponders the future of ‘Agent Carter’

James D’Arcy discusses the Agent Carter season 2 finale, and shares his thoughts on what may be next for the indomitable Edwin Jarvis and the show itself. Spoilers ahead!

Jarvis has been on quite an emotional roller-coaster ride in these last few episodes of Agent Carter — he’s consumed with worry, then he’s bent on revenge, then he’s fighting with Peggy. How did you feel about playing all of these extremes?

I thought it was great that they wrote it that way, because the season had started out so silly, really, for Jarvis. I knew quite early on that the writers were building up to a big fight in the desert between Jarvis and Peggy. I didn’t really know how they were going to get there. So that was a scene that everybody was pretty excited about for a while before any of us read it. But I have to say, I did not know that Ana was going to be shot before I read it, which was maybe a week before we shot it, and I thought, “How wonderful that they’ve added an extra dimension there.”

He’s a laugh, Jarvis. It’s easy to make fun of him, I think because he has so much self-esteem that he honestly doesn’t care what other people think of him. And he’s quite happy to be that fun guy, and he is pretty [quick witted?] But then, the one thing I think we’ve learned even from the beginning of season one is that he is devoted to his wife — completely devoted. And we see that captured in a way that was perhaps not expected.

Those scenes with Ana in the hospital were really devastating — I cried! How did you prepare for that level of emotion?

Well, I think honestly, the answer — and it’s not a deflection, it’s truly the answer — is if your writers write it well, there’s really nothing to do. They wrote that beautiful scene where he says, “I promise I’ll do this, and I promise I’ll do that, and I promise I’ll do the other,” and it’s heartbreaking, the things that he’s promising. Honestly, it didn’t take a lot of imagination just to feel. I thought they wrote it so beautifully. So I think I got very, very lucky, to be honest! I got really lucky with the writing.

Going back to that fight with Peggy, I was really taken aback by how brutal it was. How did you feel about that exchange?

I’ve gotta say, I read it and I felt punched in the stomach. Because she said some things that were — and I was reading them, going, “There’s no conceivable way you can come back from that. There’s no way they can be friends after she said that.” And then, again, the writers are so clever the way they turn the scene on its head and made it go in a slightly different direction, and suddenly everything fell into place and you realize that deep down, these people deeply care about each other and all the rest of it is just conversation.

Jarvis takes a little bit of a step back from the action in the finale of Agent Carter, but it’s his idea that ultimately saves the day. What do you think motivates through the finale, after going through the emotional wringer?

I think it’s when Ana says to him, “You must go an assist in whatever way you can.” That’s when, I think, he feels he has a mandate now to go back and be as helpful as possible to Peggy. And of course, the fact that Howard’s back, is always good fun and what have you, but I think it really stems from what Ana says, which is, “You must go and help. You must go and help.” And he’d give it all up in a heartbeat for Ana.

There is so much going on in the finale’s climactic scene, with everyone trying to close the Zero Matter rift. What was that like to film?

As far as actors are concerned, it was pretty straightforward for us… from Enver [Gjokaj]’s perspective, he was upside down on a rig for a couple of days. And then they brought in fans, and then a lot did happen, maybe extra cameras those days. I would not have particularly wanted to be the director of that sequence. Jennifer [Getzinger] did a great job, [but] it was complicated! Trying to get all the component parts, plus there were obviously also special effects to be added in later and all the rest of it.

And they were also quite short days because we were filming on the Universal backlot, and the sun would dip behind the lot at about 4:00 in the afternoon, so you couldn’t really shoot much beyond 4:30. Yeah, she managed to get a lot done in a very short amount of time, Jennifer. It was impressive.

Agent Carter season 2 ends on a pretty dramatic cliffhanger. Do you have any theories or ideas about what might happen going forward?

Obviously there’s a file that gets taken, which is absolutely an important. Now, where did he find that file? I don’t know, so I can’t tell you. But it doesn’t look [optimistic] that people are already killing S.S.R. operatives in order to get a hold of it.

Do you have any specific hopes for Jarvis and Ana’s future?

Oh, I hope that they continue in the same vein that they are headed. I think that they’ve got a great, deep respect for each other, a real understanding of each other. There’s a kindness and tenderness between them — I mean, they’ve got sort of a good relationship, haven’t they? I hope that nothing comes between that.

Your work on Agent Carter has made a big impact on a lot of fans — in many ways, you’re the ultimate Jarvis now. How has the show impacted you in turn?

Oh, it’s the best job I’ve ever had. I loved doing that job, it was the most fun I’ve ever had on a set. The most fun I’ve ever had. I adore Hayley [Atwell], we laughed our heads off from morning til night, and I was very, very proud of the work that we’ve done on it. Fingers crossed we’ll do more, who knows, but certainly up to this point I’ve never enjoyed a job more, and I’ve never felt prouder of the writing and the team. It’s a really spectacularly lovely crew — it’s just great. It’s a really, really great job.

Finally, Jarvis tries to keep Peggy in Los Angeles with the lure of tacos. What do you think Jarvis would have on his tacos?

Oh, man! I actually think that Jarvis [laughs] because he’s such an enthusiast, I think he’d have everything. He’d like, get everything on the taco. I think he would just completely… he’d reluctantly be eating around the first plate, then realize it’s the greatest thing he’s ever eaten, then have every single topping you could possibly put on a taco on it.

And does he try to eat it with a knife and fork, all proper?

Definitely! Oh yeah, definitely. Absolutely. A hard shell taco would be eaten with a knife and fork for sure!